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Summer is fun, but not that fun when your kids are fighting or asking what they can do every five minutes. In my book, reading is the best way to beat boredom and keep minds and imaginations sharp. That’s why it’s so important to start summer off by encouraging your kids to read every day. But I’m not into forcing children to read. Reading should be a pleasure—something your kids choose to do because they love it!
Here are a few of the simplest, most effective ways to turn your kiddos into bookworms this summer:
- Get the right books. In order for your child to catch fire with a love for reading, they need to be able to choose from books that are age-appropriate and interesting to them. There are too many good books out there to waste time on bad ones. That’s why I talked to librarians, authors, other parents, and most importantly, bookish kids, to compile this summer reading list for children of every age. Thank you to my good friend and Queen designer, Hello Tosha, for turning it into a fun printable for you.
- Create a summer reading challenge. Kids are reward-based creatures. Create a system that works for you and gets your kids excited to read! Head to my story highlights on Instagram for all the details on our reading reward system. We love coloring in this printable when we finish a book!
- Take advantage of audiobooks. Some of my favorite versions of a book are the audio versions. Especially when it comes to kids’ books. Audiobooks are great for road trips, but we usually just turn them on when we’re driving around town. It’s crazy how quickly we can finish books that way.
- Build a summer book library. Stash away certain books and only bring them out for summertime reading. You and your kids will start associating those books with the magic of summertime and you’ll have a tradition of re-reading summertime books that your kids will probably pass down to their own kids. I love the idea of building nostalgia through books.
Here’s my KSL Studio 5 segment on my favorite summer reads for kids and teens:
Other great summer reading resources:
Everyday Reading’s free Raising Readers e-course
Modern Mrs. Darcy: How to get free audiobooks
40 clean reads for teens by Robin King (for Delicious Reads)
My top 10 book recommendations for moms
Stay tuned for my list of what I’m reading this summer!
Happy reading,
Kim
